The Guitar
by orangepencils
Summary: Sophie knew what the guitar meant on a symbolic view. She just couldn't understand why Howl was still using it now that he had told her that he loved her and only her.


**The Guitar**

**I've had this idea sitting around for a few years now, but I never did anything about it. I recently came up with a part for it and decided that it would be really cool if I just went ahead and typed it out even though I always write them down on paper first.**

**221**

**Summary: Sophie knew what the guitar meant on a symbolic view. She just couldn't understand why Howl was still using it now that he had told her that he loved her and only her. Romance.**

**Disclaimer: I'm bored. Oh and it follows some events from the book and some from the movie.**

The Guitar

It had been one year since the castle had been reconstructed and that both Prince Justin and Wizard Sulliman had been sorted out. To thank Howl for his tremendous helps, Sulliman had given Howl a replica of his guitar. The other one had been damaged beyond repair during the final battle.

At first, Howl had simply kept the guitar in the corner by the door. Every now and then he had taken it to polish it or twang its cords for good measure. With the passing months, it had amazed Sophie how they had fallen into an unwritten routine after the castle had been restored.

Every morning, Sophie would wake up when she heard the water going on in the bathroom. She would then freshen up in the other bathroom and once she was done, she would go downstairs and start preparing breakfast. When Howl would finish up in the bathroom, he would come downstairs, greet Sophie with a lovely kiss and then help her out with breakfast by setting up the table. Those short fifteen minutes or so that they had in the morning were usually the only "alone time" they would have for the major part of the day. Every now and then, it happened like with every couple who was in love that they got a bit carried away much to the annoyance of the rest of the habitants of the castle.

As Sophie got up that morning and started preparing breakfast, she thought of how Howl had been acting stranger these past few weeks. There had been some sort of change and even Calcifer had noticed it. The wizard had become more reclusive and secretive. To top it all off, he had started taking out the stupid guitar more frequently. This caused Sophie to worry since she clearly remembered what Howl had used the guitar for before her arrival. She wouldn't have started questioning everything had it not been for the fact that even his kisses seemed less romantic and more uncertain, as if he was hiding something from all of them.

Sophie was about to start setting the table seeing as her beau was still sinking in his hot bath, but just as she was about to put the first dish down, a freshly cleaned hand caught hers and without even realizing it, Howl had the dishes in one hand and his other was holding on to Sophie's arm. She looked up at him in utter confusion and he simply smiled at her as he put the dishes on the table and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Did you drown in there?" She asked as he finished placing the dishes.

"Not quite, love. Why don't we have brunch today instead of breakfast? I would like you to come with me for a moment." He guided her to the door before he took the dratted guitar with them.

"What's that for?" She asked him thinking of the worst possible scenario her mind could conjure.

"You'll see." He gently pushed her out the door and Sophie found herself in their flower garden. Howl lead her to a secluded patch of grass and put a small spell on it to make sure that they wouldn't get wet before sitting down. Sophie followed suit still confused.

"Can you actually play it?" Sophie asked after a while. Howl smiled at her.

"I'm glad you asked me Sophie. I'm sure the others have told you what I used to do with the old guitar." When Sophie nodded he continued with his tale. "Well, I've been practicing recently, teaching myself how to play. After all, what's the use of having a guitar if you can't use it, right? To be perfectly honest, I've been working on a piece for you recently. Would you like to hear it?" Sophie nodded, curiosity getting the best of her.

"It's not exactly finished and I haven't gotten the melody completely right, but I think you'll prefer it this way. It's more natural." He fiddled with the guitar for a moment before clearing his throat and starting.

"_Lately, I've been thinking_

_That you and I should get together_

_Settle down_

_And have some fun_

_We'll grow old together_

_And laugh by the fire_

_I'll have a beard of grey_

_And your hair will be the color of starlight_

_But I just need you to tell me_

_That you love me_

_So please say yes_

_And we'll have our own_

_Happily ever after."_

The melody finished, Howl set down the guitar and got down on one knee. He took Sophie's left hand in his and looked up to her beautiful face.

"Will you marry me, Sophie?"

"Yes, a thousand times yes!" Her smile seemed to glow with all the joy in the world as Howl placed the ring on her finger. The newly engaged couple then shared a kiss, both laughing and smiling with joy.

"Now that this has been taken care of, what did you think of the song?" Howl asked her as he took his seat next to her.

"It was beautiful Howl, thank you." She smiled up to him and then leaned into his chest. They sat together in a comfortable silence, looking at the scenery for a while longer before they remembered that the rest of the maisonnée was waiting for them.

**OWARI**

**It is finished!!! Woohoo! I thought up of the song thing Thursday night/Friday morning around 1:30AM. It always happens like that! I finally decided to do something about it and type this thing. I wrote down the lyrics to the song on the back of a box that was a package my friend sent me from Germany. There was NO paper around my room.**

**Let me know what you think**

**Op**

**Started typing: Thursday March 19****th**** 2009 **

**Finished typing: Sunday March 22****nd**** 2009 **


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